Fossil Fuel Dependency and Americans

Fossil Fuel Dependency and Americans
One of the major underlying problems Americans are faced with today is what to do about the dependency on fossil fuels. Petroleum dependence is a big problem for the United States because the supply will be depleted soon if consumers continue to use it at the rate they use it now. If consumers want to keep their engines running and lights on, there must be a drastic change in the sources of energy supply.
An issue the whole world faces today is the reliance on fossil fuels as an energy source. These fossil fuels include coal, natural gas, and most importantly, petroleum. While petroleum and coal are in fact biologically based, they are using condensed, stored energy that has been building up over millions of years. This energy is not considered renewable because of the time it takes for the energy to build up. Once it is gone, it will be millions of years before this condensed energy is in supply again (Braude 2005). Most renewable sources are products of solar energy, photosynthesis being the solar process that powers plant-based renewable power. The problem with fossil fuels is that they do not use active photosynthetic energy, which is renewable or endless. It is said that petroleum is going to run out soon if consumers continue to use it at the rate they are. It would be more accurate to say that petroleum is going to become harder to find.
Currently, 95% of the U.S. transportation demand comes from petroleum; whereas only 3% comes from renewable supply sources (Envirolink 2011). The solution to this problem is for the United States to reduce its dependence on petroleum by becoming more dependent on renewable energy sources.
When the first Industrial Revolution came about in the late18th century, it started in the United Kingdom, and then spread through Europe, North America, and eventually everywhere. Nobody could have known the unseen consequences that the new found technology would cause. The Industrial Revolution allowed us to change the way manufacturing, agriculture, mining, transportation and technology were all handled. When the replacement of organic fuels (that were based on wood), changed to the use of fossil fuels (based on coal) during the second Industrial Revolution, no one could have known the devastating effects it would have later. What they did not know was that with the continual use of fossil fuels we would endanger nature, the wildlife that lives in it, and our environment that we live in as well. They also failed to think that we would ever run out and now that our society is built around the use of fossil fuels, we need to come together to devise a plan that will keep our engines running, and the lights on for our children and our grandchildren. Fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource that can take millions of years to form, and the reserves are being used faster than new ones are having time to formulate. Fossil fuels that we mainly rely on would include; coal, natural gas, and most importantly, petroleum. With that said, this paper is going to talk about how our society would be able to transfer from fossil fuels to cleaner resource energies which are beneficial to our earth, and our existence.
“Our food industry is a major factor into the usage of fossil fuels. We use a tremendous amount of fossil fuels each year contributing to 10% of the energy used” (Donner & Rodriquez, 2011). For the amount of energy used, we do not get very much back. Transporting foods, fueling machinery, and chemicals are the main causes for the used energy. Pesticides and artificial fertilizers are synthesized from atmospheric natural gas, and nitrogen, which use a large amount of energy to complete the process. Other energies that are used up are due to the production system allocated to processing and packaging food, as well as home refrigeration and cooking. Food transportation is another top contributor to the amount of energy used in the food business. The way the United States is set up, we get our wheat from the western Plains, Midwest contributes corn, and “90% of all the fresh vegetables consumed here in the United States originate from San Joaquin Valley, in California” (NCCP 2011). With the transportation of food, it is estimated that food can travel 1,500 miles before being consumed! There is another alternative to this issue, and it includes purchasing at local food markets. It is more of a “seasonal based” eating which means that you can only find the type of food that is “in season”. This cuts down on the amount of fossil fuels used to transport the food, and produce the food in mass quantities. Since pesticides and fertilizers account for 40% of all the fossil fuels used, we could cut down the costs by using local farmers, who fight to preserve their land because of all the hard work they have put into it. This also would cut out the food processing centers which paper and plastic packaging is used in order to keep the food fresh. This contributes largely to the amount of water and air pollution (Braude 2005)
Even though coal and petroleum are biologically based, they use condensed, stored energy that has been building up for millions of years. Because of the time it takes for the energy to build up, this is not considered to be a renewable resource. Once this condensed energy is gone it will take millions of years for the energy to rebuild its’ supply (Envirolink 2005).So, what are we going to do while we are waiting for the energy to rebuild itself? To begin, we could start looking into renewable sources of energy like; solar energy. Solar energy uses a process similar to the photosynthesis that powers plant based renewable power. This active photosynthetic energy is renewable (otherwise endless), so we need to start finding ways to incorporate this technology into our energy resources. With all the demands of energy the three that are most important are; industry, heating, and transportation. They have found a suitable way to change from the current transportation we drive to newer, more energy efficient vehicle. They replaced the use of a gasoline engine with an electric motor, which gets its power from a controller. The controller gets its power from an array of rechargeable batteries. The most interesting thing I have found about the use of an electric motor is the ability to take advantage of the motor’s momentum when you use the brakes. The process is called “regenerative breaking” and instead of converting all the energy in the motor into heat like a gasoline power car, it recharges the batteries while applying the break! (Braude 2005)
Transportation in a vehicle may be taken care of, but I still see issues with air planes and making them more energy efficient. What would happen if the world ran out of fossil fuels today? What would happen to our economy? Would we be able to find ways to generate enough energy to keep the planet afloat? I think we would because there would be an exposure to the other alternative power sources that have already been developed. Unfortunately, they remain suppressed because they are a threat to the existing power structure. Oil companies do not want to lose their control in our transportation industry, but if we were to run out of fossil fuels today, we would have to find more energy efficient ways of living our lives.
Solar energy is something we all need to learn how to use. One day it will be the technology that lights our house, and keeps us warm or cool (according to the weather). It is now a possibility that you can have a solar paneled home. The solar panels are specifically designed to absorb the sun’s radiation, and convert it to energy that can then be converted to batteries ranging from DC to 120 volts. The government gives taxes relief to those who participate in self-producing activities such as concerting your house to solar energy. I think the most important thing we need to do when we create a new alternative to fossil fuels is to make sure that we weigh the consequences and make sure that whatever the resource is; that it is endlessly renewable.
“Current technologies make it possible to provide first generation biodiesel, ethanol or biogas to the transport sector to be blended with fossil fuels. Still under-development 2nd generation biofuels from lignocelluloses should be available on the market by 2020. Research is active on the improvement of their conversion efficiency. A ten-fold increase compared with current cost-effective capacities would make them highly competitive” (Bessou, Ferchaud, Gabrielle, and Mary, 2011). One of the more popular biofuels is called “ethanol” and is basically fermented plant parts. This is a good because it uses something that used to be thrown away. We have learned to recycle and reuse, but it does have its drawbacks. One of those would be that creating a plant-based biofuels would require the use of too much farmland and does not seem to be practical or sustainable. We could use that land for growing food instead of crops only to be used for waste.
Energy is something that we have all learned to depend on. The increased use of energy correlates with the gross domestic product; though the principle sources of energy are fossil fuels. This causes us to face the dilemma of the greenhouse effect. When we burn fossil fuels, we enhance radioactive forcing, and contribute to global warming, and cause the temperatures of the earth to rise. “Here in the United States, over 90% of the greenhouse gas emissions are directly linked to the combustion of fossil fuels” (Envirolink 2011). The combustions produce carbonic, nitric, and sulfuric acids which in return, fall to the Earth in the form of acid rain. This impacts both natural environments, and built in areas. Any type of sculptures or monuments that may be made from limestone or marble would be exceptionally vulnerable because of how the acids dissolve calcium carbonate. Nitrous oxide is another one of the greenhouse gasses which is a major contributor to global warming. In addition to acrid rain, hydrocarbons can react with nitrogen oxides to create smog. Smog does not destroy like acrid rain by dissolving limestone and marble, but it is harmful for humans (Envirolink 2011). For example; nitrogen oxides can irritate a person’s lungs. Soot and dust are two types of particle matters that can contribute to respiratory illness and cardiac problems, including heart attacks and arrhythmias. In conclusion, the use of fossil fuels seems to have become America’s addiction. Both of the Industrial had unforeseen consequences that we are just now finding out. Society has gone from the use of burning wood for energy to the use of fossil fuels in order to create energy. We need them in order function in society better, but what are we going to do when we run out? If all the countries could just come together on this one subject, and find alternative means to these issues, then we could stop the irreparable damage we are causing the Earth. We can ensure the safety of generations to come. The only thing stopping us is actually being able to “come together”.

Works Cited

Bessou, C., Ferchaud, F., Gabrielle, B., & Mary, B. (2011). Biofuels, greenhouse gases and climate change. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 1(31), 1-79. doi:10.1051/agro/2009039

Braude, J. (2005). Oil for Fued. New Republican, 1, 14-17. doi:17466473

Donner, W., & Rodriquez, H. (2011). Disaster Risk and Vulnerablity. Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/Articles/2011/disaster-risk.aspx

Envirolink. (2011). The Envirolink Network. Retrieved from http://www.envirolink.org/topics.html?topicsku

NCCP. (2011). Making work Support Work. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/projects/mwsw.html

Cited: Bessou, C., Ferchaud, F., Gabrielle, B., & Mary, B. (2011). Biofuels, greenhouse gases and climate change. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 1(31), 1-79. doi:10.1051/agro/2009039 Braude, J. (2005). Oil for Fued. New Republican, 1, 14-17. doi:17466473 Donner, W., & Rodriquez, H. (2011). Disaster Risk and Vulnerablity. Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/Articles/2011/disaster-risk.aspx Envirolink. (2011). The Envirolink Network. Retrieved from http://www.envirolink.org/topics.html?topicsku NCCP. (2011). Making work Support Work. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/projects/mwsw.html